James Beard Foundation Award Semifinalist: Tory Miller

Before Miller was a devotee to sustainability, he graduated the French Culinary Institute (now the International Culinary Center), looking for training and experience in professional kitchens. He worked in several of New York’s best restaurants, including Eleven Madison Park and Judson Grill, before arriving at L’Etoile to work as Odessa Piper’s chef de cuisine. In 2005, Miller purchased the restaurant with his sister and business partner, Traci Miller. Seven years later, he earned L’Etoile’s second James Beard Award for “Best Chef, Midwest.”

While Madison, Wisconsin may not be known as a culinary mecca, Chef Tory Miller has created a small gustatory oasis with his four restaurants: L’Etoile, Graze, Sujeo, and Estrellón. Miller specializes in dishes made from locally grown, sustainable, organic ingredients, executed in part through a rigorous “put-by” system, in which he preserves summer produce for use year round.

Nomination: Outstanding Restaurant (L’Etoile)

For more information on the 2017 James Beard Foundation Awards Semifinalists, click here.